Delayed Post; Peru 2010

So I haven't really been able to do a lot of this blog stuff because the internet here is at a pre-historic pace. Here goes so far of what I have been up to, for those of you who haven't heard from me.

I left Auckland NZ at 6.30pm on Tuesday the 31st Auckland. It was really sad, but the moment I got on the plane, I was prepared and set for Peru.

My first flight was 12hrs to Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was too long, and I didn't get much sleep. Luckily I was sitting next to an Australian woman who was very kind. I liked her because she spoke English, little did I know that for the remainder of my journey (After Buenos Aires), I would not speak English until 24hrs later, when the Belgians arrived. To put it short, flying in South America is a bit more relaxed than everywhere else. They use cameras and laptops during take off and landing, despite warnings.. I'm still alive, so maybe it is okay? =)

My first night in Peru was spent in a Youth Hostel named 'Hostel Malka'. I was the first AFS mid-year student to arrive, and I was all alone! But in the following afternoon, AFS Lima took me to lunch at a Chifa, or Chinese Resturant. Peru has A LOT of Chinese cultural influence, more than what you'd first think.

The next few days were spent in a big Catholic Nun's Convent, where we got to know each other as more and more students arrived. There are 24 Belgians, 15 or so Germans, 6 French, 5 Austrians, 2 Swiss, 2 Canadians, 1 Icelanic, 1 American and Myself... maybe more people, but I can not remember.

This, of course, was where we tried our first REAL Peruvian meals. This simply means, Rice with something on the side. Nearly every meal we have rice. In Spanish, they say, for example, Chicken and Rice - Arroz con Pollo.... See, RICE with Chicken. For me, I enjoy this because I come from a house hold where my mother always has rice, so no culture shock there. Also, it will be interesting to learn to cook new things (=

Now, just to ease those thoughts in your mind, YES, it is true, we can't flush the toilet paper here. We have to use a bin instead. Really, it's not too much of a probelm, unless you accidentally throw it into the toilet... not that I have done that... hahaha

On our 3rd day in Peru, we started to depart to our cities. Most people went by bus, but for me I went by plane because there are no roads into Iquitos. This meant getting up at 3am for our 6am flight (which ran on peruvian time, aka DELAYED by an hour). Those who went to Iquitos, Arequipa or Puno left last. Because there were only a few of us left, we decided to have a jam, so I pulled out my clarinet, there was a guitar, rubbish bin drums, drink bottles and an harmonica. We had a lot of fun =D

The flight to Iquitos was amazing. We flew over the Andes, and wow. They are so beautiful. I can not lie. Then, as we began to land, we flew over the Amazon River. It is so beautiful!

Now I am here in Iquitos, where it is 32C and 90% humidity most of the time, but that's okay.
You get used to it. It is VERY differnent to NZ, and I will write more in my next posts.

I start school next Monday, at 'Republica de Venezuela'. I went there today, and the people seem really friendly.


That's all for now,
hasta luego...

Liam in Peru